Australia will start three untested players against South Africa in the inaugural Twenty20 International, which will be contested on Wednesday, August 30 at Kingsmead in Durban. It is noteworthy that Cricket Australia released the starting XI for the first match, as players like Aaron Hardie, Matt Short, and Spencer Johnson will be making their international debuts against the Proteas.
The majority of the starting lineup will warm the bench for the upcoming match, therefore Mitchell Marsh will captain the revamped Australian T20I team.
Johnson, Aaron Hardie, and Short have been called up to the national team thanks to their recent bowling performances in domestic contests.
Johnson had a successful season in the Sheffield Shield 2022–23 season, taking 16 wickets in just three matches while keeping an economy rate of 3.54. In addition, he made news during The Hundred 2023 match against Manchester Originals when he returned the most economical stats in the league, conceding only one run in 20 deliveries while also bagging three wickets.
But in the upcoming T20I against South Africa, 24-year-old Aaron Hardie, who has been chosen in Australia’s preliminary World Cup team, will make his international debut. Notably, the only four players who participated in Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign in November are Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, and Adam Zampa.
Prior to the 2023 ODI World Cup, the Australian team had to contend with a number of knocks in the form of injuries. Some players, including Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, and Glenn Maxwell, have been hurt and are now recovering in order to participate in the major ICC event in India. The Australians will play the World Cup hosts, India, in a three-match One-Day International series after the completion of the multi-format series.
Matt Short, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh (captain), Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, and Spencer Johnson make up Australia’s first T20I XI against South Africa.
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